Charity sale for children with cerebral palsy

Leslie Simpson (far right), founder of charity store Roundabout, Cheryl Wyse (second from right), founder of Agape, and children at the charity sale. Photo by Song Nannan

By Wang Yu

Last Saturday was an unusually busy workday for Leslie Simpson, founder of charity store Roundabout in Shunyi District. A secondhand book and toy sale was being held in the shop to raise money for 40 specialized wheelchairs for children with brittle bone disease.

The books and toys, most of which were donated by Shunyi’s foreign residents, occupied several shelves, making he shop resemble a flea market. Some students from the British School came in the morning and bought 1,000 yuan worth of things. Two people bought neither books nor toys; they just left money enough for two wheelchairs. Many parents came with their children, who left clutching new toys.

“The toy shelves were almost empty by noon. I think at least 200 people came by to help,” Simpson said.

She meant helping children with cerebral palsy (CP), also known as brittle bone disease. People with the genetic disorder are born with defective connective tissue, or without the ability to generate it, caused by a lack of the protein collagen that builds bone, nails, skin, ligaments and teeth. The absence of collagen leads to bones fracturing very easily, which in turn can result in small stature and deafness in adulthood.

The sale’s recipients are children unde the care of Agape, a Hebei-based NGO that provides housing, education and training to Chinese children, many of them orphans. Most have CP and were abandoned by their families who could not afford their health care. The youngest child under Agape’s care is a year and a half.

The CP wheelchairs are the only way those with brittle bones can move about. But unlike ordinary wheelchairs that cost 1,500 yuan, these special wheelchairs are more than triple the price: 5,000 yuan. But being an NGO, Agape – run by American couple Keith and Cheryl Wyse – does not have enough funds to purchase 40 wheelchairs. So Roundabout stepp in to help.

“We’ve contacted a Japanese company who offered a much lower price. It all depends on how much money we can raise,” Simpson said.

Some children from Agape participated in the event, selling baked goods made by Bread of Life Bakery, also run by the Wyses. It doubles as a training center for Agape’s disabled teenagers; they are taught how to bake bread, pies and cakes so they can help run the bakery. Its profits, i turn, go toward purchasing orthopedic equipment for the children with brittle bones.

By closing time, the charity sale raised 28,700 yuan, enough for 20 CP wheelchairs. That takes care of half of what they needed.